If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
Until Labour face up to the unpleasant truths of their role in the country's present economic crisis, their rhetoric is going to fail to convince. Playing the political game with aggressive putdowns which play to the gallery will only get them so far.
As long as these smears are accepted by the public, Labour will continue to suffer from a toxic image of economic incompetence. The task facing them now is not so much in rethinking their policies, but in figuring out how to convincingly express them to those who are still cynical.
Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and I have set two tests for George Osborne's budget today. First, will it get our economy moving - delivering the jobs and growth we need to get the deficit down? And second, will it be fair to families on low and middle incomes now bearing the heaviest burden of Osborne's spending cuts and tax rises?
In the week of the budget, Labour has little economic credibility and is rightfully trailing the Tories on who would run the economy better. While I believe that Osborne has made many wrong choices on the economy, Labour has consistently been out of line with and detached from the economic reality.
Ed Miliband and Ed Balls recently attempted to make some headway on the key issue of economic growth by asserting that they may not be able to reverse Coalition cuts after 2015, whilst also promoting their five point plan for jobs and growth.
Intelligent speeches as Leader of the Opposition are one thing, and Cameron's are clearly not worth the Samantha Cameron Smythson stationery they're scrawled on. But these days he is quite possibly as near as he will ever be to being in a position to do something. For now, just this once, I'm backing him.
January is a depressing month if you live in the northern hemisphere. Gloomy, damp, dark - and that's just the economic outlook!
On Saturday, the Shadow Chancellor admitted that if the Labour Party were in government, they would not deviate from the tough decisions that George Osborne and David Cameron are making in an effort to cut the deficit.
With a poor leader, little economic opposition, and a party still figuring out what it does and doesn't want, what good are they?
Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, announced today that his ambition for a mansion tax has been "delayed", by the Conservatives. One envisages a forlorn Nick, his toy train's sparkly wheel vandalised by the careless, booted foot of the Tory party.
Ed's remarks yesterday during his speech to London Citizens should be welcomed by both many in the Labour Party and the public. However 18 months into Ed Miliband's leadership the party has failed to make any substantial progress in developing distinct policies which is beginning to take its toll. The narrative on the economy is particularly an area where the Labour party has failed to make its mark.
George Osborne's autumn statement brought with it lashings of pain sweetened by some business-friendly platitudes and the odd bit of Thatcherite rhetoric for the Tory old boys.
Rather than trying to use the strikes to distract attention, the Chancellor must make the right choice in the autumn statement. He can plough on regardless with a plan that is hurting, but not working to get the deficit down. Or he can stop blaming everybody else for his own mistakes and change course.
The Labour Party have of course many challenges to over come, Ed Miliband has a mountain to climb. He needs a shadow team who the public can recognise.
Apart from a ten-line blip in a seven-page speech David Cameron made back in April, whenever immigration comes up in the news in this country it is in a negative context.
As I look back at my initial hopes for the Labour Party this week, it's safe to say that none of them quite came true.
